Elizabeth a



N.PETERS, PHOTO-LIYHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. D C.

. "Totali whom t may concern x UNITEDsTATEs PALEENT oEEIoE.

ELIZABETH A.fs'rILLM-N1,`0ENEW Avoleur, N. Y.,1ADMINIsTRATRIx or ALFRED sTILLMAN,

I l `1l i '1` DEoEAsED.

rUnNAcEron BURNING BAeAssE.

" specificati@ forming! paeof Letters rateeNo. 12,807, dated Ivray 1, 1855; Reissue@ November e?,

Be it known that ALFRED S'IILLMAN, late lof thecity, county,1 andState ofN ew York, deceased, didinvent certain new and useful Improvements 1 in Employing Bagasse as `Euelin Sugar- Works; and I, ELIZABETH iANN STIImMAN, administratrix of the goods and estate of the saiddeceased, do hereby ,1 declare that the following is a full, clear `and complete description of his said* inv`e`n"1 tion and of the operation thereof, reference? being` made to the annexed drawings,

`ing a part oft-this specification, in which-` 1 t Figure I isa topivielvs'forI plan, Fig. IIis an elevation partly ins`ection,`fand` similar 1 letters indicate similar parts'in both the 1 gures.` 1 1 1 1 11` M y "Thisinventionjconsists in a new arrangement and "mode of11 constructing and operat` ing a plantation sugarfmilLwhereby the bagasse, without beingfhandled, driedfor otherwise prepared, 1is` at once utilized` as fuel, and consumed asfastas it is deprived 1 of Its saccharlneiplice;` 1

From the commencement of the manufacture ofsugarin `this country, attempts have `been repeatedly made to accomplish the de-v` l struction of the refuse1 cane and at the same time "to make itvaluable1 as fuel. f In fact,`

` merely` to get rid of it from the plantationsl `1 without expensewouldbe a matter of great advantage, yet upto this timeeven that has `not been accomplshed.vf` 1 Itis now the custom, and is indeed necessary, to construct and keep in repair vast buildings in which Eto store this material for drying before it can bet consumed, `1and this storing can only be done by the expensive process of hand labor, which must bespared too ata time when all the force is required in `the sugar house. 11

The fact'that bagasse contains much siliciousmatter, and also that it leaves muchY ashes in the process of combustion, renders 1 a peculiar furnace necessary in order to burn it,` especially when green.` Such furnace 1 must be so constructed `that the blast can be 1 maintained freely, and also that the deposits 1 `or ashes .may be ,collected without choking up the blast'.1 With awblast through grate t bars this cannot be accomplished with suffix cient certainty of being able to maintain the operation, since the ashes accumulate so rapidly asto choke them, and in addition to 1 This furnace consists of` a chamberhaving 1a flat solid hearth with an opening at the top to receive the bagasse, and having the blast ,admitted in numerous jets around the sides at 1a suitable' distance above the'hearth` to allow of the accumulation of ashes; the

necessity of providing" for such` accumulation arising from'the fact that Vthe operation of themill must be ascontinuous'as possible, 1 day and night, for a considerableperiodof time. Several rows of such jets may be arranged one above the other so that asthe ashes accumulate upon thehearth and reach the lower row, the blast may beshut off from itl and transferred to the next above, and so onuntil'itis time to clear out the`whole.

KBy, combining such a furnacel with the boil vers and thefcaneLmill, the green or'wet bagassemay be burned as fuel for the boilers,

and without preparation or handling, thus converting a material i hitherto a cause of 1 expense and trouble, Into a source of advan` tage and profit. y 1 e Figs. I and II represent` the method of constructing and arranginga sugar-mill as above mentioned. At Aisthe cane mill for expressing `the juice. At B is the bagasse burning furnace; t And at AGistherange of' boilers.

1 Thecane-mill represented at A is after the `plan of' f Stillmans patent but any other kind ofmill is also applicable. From the last pair of rollers, or where the cane has 1 received the la'st compression and is readyto be discharged, an endless carrier is constructed so as to receive the same and convey it to the furnace in the order and as fast as delivered,said carrier being represented `at The carrier terminates at the top of the furnace, where there is a peculiar feeding apparatus constructed so as to takevthe bagasse and discharge it into the furnace, and yet keep the aperture closed. At (o, 0,)

are two rollers situated at the top of the furnace and immediately upon the square aperture (p) leading down intoit as shown.`

The boxes of one of these rollers are made so as to play back and forth horizontally, while those of the other are permanently fixed. Motion is communicated to the fixed One by an endless chain passing over a pulley and leading to and passing over another pulley at the cane-mill, a air of gear wheels of equal size causing li e rotation of the rollers.

The reason for having the rollers capable of moving apart is to allow them to yield when passing` thicker pieces of cane, or in case of excessive feeding, or when some should present themselves crosswise, and were they not permitted to yield, the chain or some other part of the machine would be endangered.

The movable roller is pressed against the other by the force of springs, or other equivalent power, acting on the outside, so that by these means not only does it yield to the passage of unequal pieces of bagasse, but the moment they are through it closes up against the other roller, and thus keeps the feed aperture shut.

Many different ways may be adopted for making the rollers self-adjusting. As represented, the boxes (0') are'set upon guidepieces or slides, the ends of which project beyond the hopper, as shown; on the ends of these, powerful feather springs (s) act to force the boxes inward toward the stationary roller. Thus the necessary play is permitted, while the surfaces of the rollers are kept as closely together as possible, seizing the bagasse as it falls intothe hopper from the carrier and deposit-ing it Within the furnace. The furnace as represented at B consists of a large arched or dome-shaped chamber, having a tight and solid floor or hearth, as seen at (b). At the front there is an ash-pit (c), covered by a trap-door (el) operated from the outside and opposite to which in the side is a raking-hole (e), to

-haul off the ashes and dirt from the hearth.

The gaseous products of combustion are discharged through the flue (f) and thence pass beneath the range of boilers C to the nal discharge place or chimney. The necessary quantity of air to maintain combustion is admitted by means of a blast-pipe or airchannel running around the sides of the furnace and near the floor, as shown at (g), and from this channel a series of fine jets is projected into the furnace, similar to the action of twyers, as seen at the letters the blast being produced by a fan-blower or other like means.

The operation is as follows: As soon as a proper fire is built upon the hearth (7)),

'the cane mill A may be set in motion and the cane fed to it as usual. According to the construction of the mill A the cane receives impressions from a second pair of rollers in order to express all the juice possible. From these last the bagasse is delivered upon the endless carrier (a) and conveyed along to the top of the furnace B, where it is received by the feed apparatus and discharged into the furnace. The blast is so regulated as to maintain such intensity of combustion as will effect the consumption of the bagasse as fast as delivered from the mill. The flame and hot gases are discharged by the aperture (f) and pass along the flue under the boilers as represented. The walls of the furnace B it is proper to lmake thick and substantial in order to prevent as far as possible the loss of heat by radiation.

Although the furnace is herein shown as a distinct construction it may yet be so far varied as to be more intimately combined with the boilers by building it lower and placing it beneath them.

What is claimed as the invention of the said ALFRED STILLMAN and which it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is- The herein described furnace`for employing bagasse, with-out previous drying, as fuel for generating steam.

ELIZABETH ANN STILLMAN,

Admzm'stmtrz'm.

Witnesses:

J. P. Pl'nroN, S. H. MAYNARD.

[FIRST PRINTED 1913.] 

